One in a Minion Birthday (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: The Five-0 team helps Jacob celebrate his seventh birthday, minion-style.


**Notes:** Mari and Sammy – Can't imagine life without you . . . and don't want to. Thanks for everything!

Esther – Thanks for the idea ;-) and for always listening with such genuine enthusiasm.

Readers and REAL McRollers – Thank you for your incredible support of us and the REAL World. It's appreciated each and every day!

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _One in a Minion Birthday (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

"Today, today, today!" Jacob cried, running down the stairs.

Jenna poked her head out of the kitchen and smiled broadly. She knelt as Jacob ran to her and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Ohh," she said, rocking him back and forth. "Happy birthday, honey."

She pulled back to look at him and held his arms as he bounced in place expectantly.

"I have five favorite days of the year . . ." she began.

His grin widened at the familiar phrase, and he eagerly waited for her to continue.

"And this is one of them," Jenna finished.

He threw his arms around her again before jumping back.

"It's my birthday!"

"Hey, what's with the noise?" Cody asked, coming out of his room in a grey t-shirt with a towel draped over his shoulder. He flashed a quick smile at his mother before looking back at his little brother in feigned confusion. "Huh?"

"Cody! I'm seven!"

Cody laughed as Jacob hurled himself forward and caught the exuberant boy against his side.

"I'm seven! I'm seven! I'm _finally_ seven!" Jacob cried, jumping against him, unable to keep still.

Three sets of footsteps hurried down the stairs, and they heard Kaitlyn yell, "Jacob!"

He turned around and gaped.

Casey, Dylan, and Kaitlyn stood in a line grinning, all dressed in minion t-shirts. Casey's was bright yellow with a large single goggle, half-lidded eye, and mischievous smirk on the front. Kaitlyn's shirt was white with the full image of a minion with clasped hands and pleading puppy dog eyes. Dylan had gone with his favorite characters and had on a purple shirt with the outline of wild hair and crooked teeth that were the hallmarks of an evil minion.

"You've all got–" Jacob started, turning back toward Cody and Jenna. He stopped as he realized Cody had taken the towel off his shoulder to reveal the minion printed to look like it was peeking out of a chest pocket on his t-shirt. Jacob blinked. "You . . ."

Smiling, Jenna unzipped her lightweight sweatshirt to show the white t-shirt with a minion hugging several bunches of bananas underneath.

Jacob threw his hands in the air. "YOU ALL GOT MINION SHIRTS!" he cried. His hands dropped to his head as he stared in open-mouthed disbelief.

"Thought we'd match you today," Casey said, still grinning.

Jacob looked down at his minion pajamas. "I gotta change into my minion shirt!"

Jenna laughed. "I think you're minion-enough for breakfast."

Jacob turned back to her with wide, excited eyes. "Is it time for special breakfast?"

"Yep. You said banana pancakes, right?"

"Yeah!" He imitated a minion voice. "Ba-na-na!"

Jenna grinned. "I think you're really gonna like yours . . ."

A few minutes later, they were all ready for breakfast at the kitchen table.

Jenna set a plate down in front of Jacob who held the edges of his seat, bouncing in anticipation.

His jaw dropped as he looked at his plate.

Jenna had placed a large pancake in the center and used banana slices, whipped cream, and chocolate chips to decorate it like a minion face.

"A minion _pancake?_ " he exclaimed. "I can't believe it!"

Dylan laughed. "You don't have to believe it, you have to eat it."

Jacob looked incredulous, waving his hands at the plate. "I can't eat it! It looks like a minion! That's . . . that's . . ."

"The best pancake ever?" Casey suggested.

"Yeah!"

"Here," Jenna said, smiling. "Let's take a picture of you and your best pancake ever."

She stood beside him, and he looked up and grinned at the camera. Beside him, Cody turned the plate a little so it would be at a better angle for the picture.

"Now you can eat it," Jenna said.

Slowly, Jacob picked up his fork, hesitating as he looked at the pancake.

"Go on, Jacob," Kaitlyn said. "It's gonna be so good!"

He finally speared one of the banana slice eyes, catching a chocolate chip on top of the fork and some whipped cream as well. He looked around the table at the expectant faces and grinned. Opening his mouth wide, he ate the bite, smiling as he chewed.

With an affectionate look, Jenna took her seat, and they all started to eat.

"Jake, do you want me to cut your pancake?" Cody asked around his own bite.

Jacob reached for his knife. "No, I'm seven, _I_ can do it."

Cody smiled proudly. "All right."

"You don't have to work today, right, Cody?" Jacob asked, looking at him.

"No, I don't. I traded my shift."

Jacob smiled happily and looked at his mother. "And everybody's coming for the party?"

"Yep, at eleven o'clock."

Jacob beamed, sitting up straighter, and concentrated on cutting up his pancake.

After a minute, he said, "I'm gonna save the other eye for last." He looked around the table and grinned. "This is gonna be the best birthday _ever_."

Jenna smiled back at him. "And it's only just begun!"

* * *

"I'm gonna go change into my minion shirt for the party now!" Jacob said after they had finished cleaning up breakfast.

"Hang on, honey," Jenna said. "I thought since there are so many people coming later, maybe we could do our family presents now."

Jacob's eyes widened in surprise, and he nodded. "Okay."

"Can I go first, Mom?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Sure, sweetie. Let's go into the living room."

They arranged themselves around the coffee table, and Jenna brought a large paper bag over.

"Go ahead, Kaitlyn," Jenna said.

Kaitlyn looked in the bag and pulled out a laminated paper. "Here, Jacob," she said, handing it to him. "I made this for you."

Jacob looked at the page, and his face broke out into a huge smile.

"That's my name!" he cried, pointing. "And minions!"

"It's an ac–" Kaitlyn started and bit her lip, looking at Jenna. "An acrobat poem?" she asked uncertainly.

Jenna smiled. "Acrostic."

"Yeah," Kaitlyn said, smiling. "Acrostic." She pointed to each line as she read the poem.

 _ **J**_ _acob is my_

 _ **A**_ _wesome_

 _ **C**_ _ool_

 _ **O**_ _ut of this world_

 _ **B**_ _est little brother!_

"And I drew lots of minions 'cause . . . well, you like minions," she finished with a laugh.

"I do!" Jacob said excitedly. He stared at the paper. "I never had a poem about me before." He tilted his head and looked at his sister. "Am I really the best little brother?"

"I think so," Kaitlyn said genuinely.

"Me, too," said Dylan.

Jacob's eyes widened.

"I, uh . . . I think I'm supposed to plead the fifth on that one," Cody said with a little smile. "Since I've got two little brothers."

Casey nodded her agreement, and Dylan grinned at them.

Jenna smiled proudly at the whole interaction.

Jacob threw his arms around Kaitlyn. "Thanks, Kaitlyn! I'm gonna keep this forever!"

"Ours next," Dylan said, pulling the bag toward him and reaching inside. "This is from me and Casey."

He handed Jacob a wrapped gift.

"Whoa, it's a weird shape," Jacob said.

"Open it up," Casey said, smiling eagerly.

Jacob tore off the paper and gasped. "Minion hat!" he exclaimed, holding up the bright blue ball cap with a goggle eyed minion peeking up from the bill.

"Let's see it on," Jenna said.

Jacob put the cap on his head, pulling it down over his eyes.

"Does it look good?" he asked, tilting his head way up and trying to look at them.

Cody reached across the table and tipped the brim up. "It'll look better if you can see," he said, smiling.

"This is awesome!" Jacob said. He looked at Casey and Dylan. "Thanks!"

Jenna pulled out another smaller wrapped gift.

"That's from me," Cody said as she handed it to Jacob.

"From you?" Jacob asked, his eyes widening. He unwrapped the gift carefully, almost reverently, and pulled away the paper. He gasped. "A wallet. A wallet with minions!" He looked at Cody. "You got me a wallet with minions! Like you got a wallet for _your_ birthday!"

Cody smiled. "Well, you're seven now. You need a wallet."

Jacob pulled open the velcro and looked inside. "I can put my library card in it!" he exclaimed.

Jenna smiled at that.

Leaping up, Jacob ran around the table and dove at Cody, hugging him from the side. "Thank you THANK YOU!" he cried.

Cody laughed, holding him upright. "You're welcome, Jake."

"One more," Jenna said, pulling a box from the paper bag.

Jacob jumped over and stood in front of her to open it, grinning from ear to ear.

He dropped the top of the box and reached in. "A new minion shirt!"

Holding it up, he looked at the image of a crowd of grey minions with one in color.

" 'One . . . in a . . . minion'!" he read, excited at the last word. He looked at his mother, confused. "What does that mean?"

"It's like 'one in a million,' " Casey put in.

Jacob looked at her, then turned back to Jenna, still confused.

His mother smiled. "It means . . . you're unique," she explained.

"And you are definitely that," Cody agreed, smiling.

"Yeah," Dylan said.

"And that's . . . good, right?" Jacob asked, looking at them.

Jenna smiled tenderly. "That is _very_ good." She hugged him. "You're _our_ one in a minion."

The other kids looked on, smiling.

"Hey, Mom," Kaitlyn said. "There's one more thing in here." She pulled a rectangular wrapped gift from the bottom of the bag.

"Oh, of course," Jenna said, winking at the older kids. "How could I have forgotten?"

" _Another_ present?" Jacob asked . "But I already got so many."

Jenna smiled. "This one I think we'll all enjoy."

Jacob unwrapped the package and his eyes nearly popped.

"The movie!" he yelled, holding it out. "The _Minions_ movie!" He looked up eagerly. "Can we watch it at the party?!"

Jenna laughed. "I think we're going to have plenty of other things to do at the party." When Jacob deflated slightly, she smiled. "We'll watch it tonight."

"Yeah!" Jacob cheered, jumping up and pumping his fist.

"And speaking of party . . . we need to start getting ready," Jenna said. "Everyone will be here soon."

"Mom, can I work on . . ." Kaitlyn started, pointing at the kitchen.

Jenna nodded. "Yes." She looked at her oldest son. "Cody, will you . . ."

"Yeah," he said, standing along with Kaitlyn.

"Casey, Dylan, you guys start taking the party stuff outside," Jenna continued.

"Okay," Casey said. She motioned to Dylan. "Come on."

Jenna looked at Jacob. "And you, birthday boy, can finally get changed. Did you decide which shirt you're going to wear today?"

"Yeah!" Jacob cried and ran for the stairs. He stopped abruptly and looked back. A slow smile grew on his face, and he ran back to the living room. He picked up his new One in a Minion shirt and, with a grin at Jenna, ran back toward the stairs yelling, "PARTY TIME!"

* * *

Steve and Catherine were the first to arrive, smiling brightly as Jacob opened the door when they knocked.

"You're here!" he cried.

"We're here," Catherine said with a grin as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She returned his hug warmly. "Happy birthday, Jacob!"

"Thanks!" He fixed the hat on his head, only to have it dislodged once again when he hugged Steve. "I can't believe you're at my birthday party! This is so awesome!" Stepping back, he looked between them excitedly. "And you wore minion colors!"

"We did," Steve said, glancing down at his blue polo and over at Catherine in her purple shirt.

"Evil minions!" Dylan said, raising his arms triumphantly as he came up behind Jacob.

Catherine held her hand up, and he gave her a high five.

"Happy birthday, Jacob," Steve said and held out a wrapped gift with a card on top.

"Thank y–" He stopped suddenly, seeing a flash of familiar color on Steve's arm. Gasping, he reached out and grabbed Steve's wrist, holding it out to get a better look. "Is that . . . is that . . . _real?_ "

He gaped at the tattoo of a minion making muscles on Steve's forearm.

Steve smiled. "No, it's not real. We got a package of them for you, but I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I used one to . . . you know . . . fit in with the party theme."

Jacob looked up at him, a little awed, and shook his head. "I don't mind."

Kaitlyn and Cody come out of kitchen.

"Cody! Look!" Jacob cried, holding Steve's arm out. "Uncle Steve got a minion tattoo!"

"Cool," Cody said.

Catching Steve's eyes, he grinned his amusement, and Steve gave a little shrug.

"Jacob, you got a card in the mail yesterday," Jenna said, bringing a bright red envelope over.

"I got _mail?_ " Jacob asked, taking the card and staring at it in amazement.

His mother smiled. "I saved it because I thought you might like to open it when Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine were here."

"Why?" he asked, but she just nodded for him to open it.

Steve and Catherine exchanged a knowing smile with Jenna, recognizing the familiar handwriting on the envelope.

Jacob opened the envelope and took out the colorful card.

" 'It's your b . . . birthday,' " he read, looking at the front of the card with an illustration of a boy on a bicycle. "Hey! There's a seven! Like me!" He looked up, beaming.

"Look inside," Steve prompted.

Jacob opened the card, and his eyes widened.

"Whoa!" he said, picking up the two-dollar bill. "Look, Mom!"

She smiled. "I see."

"Cody!" Jacob cried, holding up the bill. "Look!"

"That's awesome, Jake," Cody said. "Who's it from?"

Jacob looked back at the card. Frowning at the words, he held it out to Jenna. "Can you read it to me, Mom? Fancy writing is hard."

Jenna smiled. "Sure, honey." She took the card and read, " 'Wishing you lots of joy and fun on your special day. Love, Grandma Ang.' "

" _Grandma Ang?!_ " Jacob asked excitedly. At his mother's nod, he jumped, crying, "It's from Grandma Ang!"

Catherine squatted down beside him and touched the bill in his hand. "You know, this is a special two-dollar bill. It's lucky. Grandma Ang sends them to all the special people in her life on special days." She looked at the other Allens who had gathered around and smiled at them. "You'll be seeing more of them for sure."

"Wow," Jacob said, awed. His eyes lit up suddenly. "I can put it my wallet! It'll be safe there!"

He ran over to the coffee table and grabbed his new wallet. He ran back and held it out to show Steve and Catherine who had stood once again.

"Look what Cody got me! He said I'm seven and I need a wallet."

Steve looked across at Cody who met his eyes with a small smile.

Catherine glanced between them and smiled, running a hand across Steve's lower back in understanding.

He looked back at Jacob. "That's a great looking wallet, buddy."

"Yeah." Smiling, Jacob pulled open the velcro and carefully slid the two-dollar bill inside. He looked up proudly. "Now it'll be safe," he said seriously.

"Hey, is this where the party's at?" a voice asked from the open doorway.

"Uncle Danny!" Jacob cried happily. "Grace!"

"Hi, Jacob," Grace said with a huge smile. "Happy birthday!"

When she shifted the gift in her hand, they could see she wore a light blue shirt with several smiling minions in the shape of a heart on the front. Beside her, Danny wore a white button-down with thin blue and yellow stripes and the sleeves rolled up. He rested a hand on his daughter's shoulder and smiled.

"Thanks!" Jacob said, grinning.

"Why don't you guys start heading out back?" Jenna suggested. "And Jacob, you and I will wait for your other guests to arrive."

Jacob nodded eagerly. "Okay!"

"Come on," Casey said, taking the lead.

Catherine slung an arm around Dylan's shoulder, and the two smiled at being the only ones wearing purple so far.

"Grace," Kaitlyn said. "Do you want to help us?"

"Sure," Grace readily agreed. "What do you need help with?"

Kaitlyn grinned at Cody, then looked back at Grace. "It's a surprise."

* * *

Once the rest of the party guests had arrived, they gathered outside in the backyard. Chin and Kono were there, both wearing yellow, as well as Jess in a yellow minion shirt. Jacob had invited three friends from school, Keone, Jeremy, and Reggie, and Jenna had also suggested that Reggie's brothers Jadon and Andre come to the party. All five boys wore shirts with minions on them.

"Can we do the games first, Mom?" Jacob asked hopefully.

"Sure," Jenna replied. "How about Pin the Goggles on the Minion?"

"Yeah!" He looked at Keone, Reggie, and Jeremy and motioned the three boys to follow him. "Come on!"

Jacob ran across the yard to the side of the house where a large picture of a minion had been hung.

"We saw one at the store with hats, but we decided to make our own," Dylan said as the rest of the group followed.

"Ah, so this is like Pin the Tail on the Donkey?" Danny said.

"Nothing gets past you, Danno," Steve said with a smirk.

Jadon snorted. "Yeah, D-Dawg, what gave it away? The name?"

"Really?" Danny said. "Both of you I gotta deal with today?"

Jadon grinned back at him.

"Kids first," Jenna said. She gestured to the picnic table. "Put your name on one of the paper goggles."

Once all of the kids had theirs labeled, Kaitlyn said, "Jacob should go first 'cause he's the birthday boy."

Jacob grinned excitedly.

"Okay," Jenna said, smiling. "Come on, birthday boy."

Jacob jumped over to her and bounced in place.

"Hold still, honey," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "How about we take your hat off for this?"

"Okay," he agreed.

Jenna removed his hat, and Catherine took it from her so she could tie a yellow bandana over Jacob's eyes as a blindfold.

"Is that too tight?" Jenna asked.

"Uh uh," Jacob said, starting to bounce again in anticipation.

"Can you see anything?"

He moved his head from side to side as if trying to see. "Nope!"

"Okay, here are your goggles." She took the paper from Kono, now with tape on the back, and handed it to Jacob. "Hold on tight. Ready?"

"Ready!"

Smiling, Jenna counted out five revolutions as she spun Jacob in circles. She held his shoulders to steady him.

"Okay, go for it!" she said as she let him go.

Jacob leaned a little to one side and then the other, clearly dizzy, then took several quick steps in the general direction of the large minion picture.

"Go, Jacob!" Jess cheered, and the others echoed her with claps and hoots of encouragement.

Holding both hands straight out, Jacob found the picture, felt around a little, and finally pressed his paper goggles to it. He whipped off the bandana to look and laughed hysterically when he saw they'd wound up near the minion's hand instead of his face.

"Hahaha! It looks like he's holding 'em!"

"Good try, Jake," Cody said.

Jenna held out a hand for the bandana. "Okay, honey, you pick who's next."

One by one, all the kids took their turn. By the end there were paper goggles all over the picture and a couple on the house. Casey, Grace, and Dylan all did well, but it was nine-year-old Andre who got his goggles closest to the minion's eyes.

"You win!" Jacob cried, slapping Andre's hand in an exuberant high five. "Can I get the prize for him, Mom?"

"How about we wait until after the next round?" Jenna suggested.

"Oh yeah!" Jacob exclaimed. "The grown-up round!

"Grown-up round?" Steve asked, raising his eyebrows.

Hiding a smile, Catherine nudged him with her hip.

"And teenagers!" Jacob said. "Cody! You can go first!"

Cody winced, but sighed and smiled at his brother's excited look.

Quickly, they took the paper goggles off the picture and relabeled them for the new competitors. They moved the picture up a few feet, and Jenna held the blindfold out.

Cody was the first up. After stumbling for a few steps, he managed to get his goggles on the minion's body. Lifting the blindfold up, he shrugged with a little chuckle.

"Good try, Cody!" Jacob said, echoing his brother's earlier words to him.

The round continued with varying degrees of success. Jess's attempt was too high. Jadon strode up confidently to be blindfolded, only to miss the picture completely on his turn.

"Let's see you do better, D-Dawg," he said at Danny's guffaw.

"Watch a pro," Danny said, pushing up his sleeves.

After being spun, he backpedaled a few steps before lurching forward and so far to the side that Chin had to put his hands out to keep him from falling over.

Across from them, Kono laughed. "Careful, brah."

Danny managed to reach the picture, but placed his paper goggles too far right.

"A pro, he said!" Jadon laughed, pointing at the picture.

"I think I got spun more than you guys did," Danny grumbled, looking at the teens.

Steve clucked his tongue, arms folded. "Excuses, excuses."

"Okay . . . let's see how you do," Danny said, holding the bandana out.

"Oh, I'm going last," Steve said.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Of course you are."

By the time it was Steve's turn, Catherine and Chin had gotten their goggles the closest. After securing the blindfold, Jenna and Catherine spun Steve several times and stepped back.

He stood perfectly still, his head cocked, waiting to regain his balance. Once he was stable and oriented he took several slow, calculated steps toward the picture, paused, and placed his paper goggles.

"You have got to be kidding me," Danny huffed in disbelief.

"Wow!" Jacob exclaimed.

Steve lifted the blindfold and smiled. The goggles were almost exactly over the minion's eyes.

Danny was incredulous. "How is that . . . you can't possibly . . . you must've been able to see outta that thing."

Steve held out his arms, unapologetic. "I'm trained to track targets in low light. What do you want from me? I can't turn that off."

"They teach you that at SuperSEAL school?" Jadon asked, his interest piqued.

Steve eyed him. "I can neither confirm nor deny . . ."

"Dude!" Jadon exclaimed, and beside him, Cody laughed.

"Prizes!" Jacob cried. He ran over to a small cardboard box by the picnic table and picked up two small plastic bags. He ran back, thrusting one at Andre and one at Steve.

"Cool!" Andre said, peering into the minion-decorated bag.

"That's okay, Jacob," Steve said, holding up his hands. "I don't need a prize."

"Yeah, he'll be just fine with bragging rights," Danny put in. "Believe me, he won't let us forget this."

"But you won," Jacob insisted, pushing the bag into Steve's hand. "You just _gotta_ keep the prize. You won!"

"Yeah, Commander," Catherine said, clearly amused, coming up beside him and sliding a hand up and down his arm. "You won."

"I picked out _everything_ ," Jacob continued. "It's all minions!" He opened the bag in Steve's hand, looking inside. "It's got a ring with a minion eye and more rings . . . they don't have anything on 'em, but they're all minion colors . . . yellow and blue and purple . . . and a bouncy ball and a button and stickers and a . . . a . . . Cody, what's that music thing again?"

"A kazoo," his brother supplied.

"A kazoo!"

Andre pulled his kazoo out and hummed into it.

Jacob grinned. "See?"

Chuckling, Steve said, "Well, how can I say no to that?"

* * *

After a few more games and a meal of hot dogs cooked on the grill, Jenna said, "Are we ready for dessert? Kaitlyn has a special surprise for you, Jacob. She's been working really hard in secret."

He straightened in his seat at the picnic table, looking around eagerly.

Jess and Cody went inside to help Kaitlyn bring out two containers and a pile of small plates. The picnic table was cleared off so they could set them down and everyone finally saw Kaitlyn's latest cupcake creations.

One tupperware container was full of cupcakes topped with yellow frosting and decorated with a marshmallow and chocolate chip for an eye or eyes and black icing for the mouth and goggles. The other had cupcakes frosted in purple with the marshmallow and chocolate chip eyes, white icing for the crooked teeth, and more purple frosting for the wild hair.

Jacob's eyes were as wide as he said, "You _made_ these?"

Kaitlyn grinned and nodded vigorously. "Mom and Cody helped decorate them. And Grace, too."

"But it was your idea," Jenna said, smiling proudly at her daughter.

"You really _are_ a master baker!" Jacob exclaimed.

Kaitlyn beamed.

"The birthday boy is 100% correct," Danny agreed. "They look almost too good to eat."

"Really, Danno?" Steve asked, an eyebrow quirked.

Danny held up a finger. "I said _almost_ ," he repeated with a grin.

Cody held out a single birthday candle. "Okay, Jake, pick out a cupcake."

"The yellow ones are vanilla, and the purple ones are chocolate," Kaitlyn told him.

Jacob shifted up on his knees and bit his lip, looking at all the cupcakes, each one unique. Finally, he looked around with a toothy grin.

"This one," he said and pointed to one of the yellow cupcakes. "It looks like Bob and he's my favorite."

"Good choice, honey," Jenna said.

Cody set the cupcake on the plate in front of Jacob. He placed the candle above the eye and took out a lighter.

After the candle was lit, Jenna took a deep breath and looked around at the gathered group, motioning them to sing along.

" _Happy birthday to you . . ._ "

Jacob grinned happily at his family and friends as they sang, all wearing warm smiles.

" _. . . Happy birthday, dear Jacob. Happy birthday to you._ "

Smiling broadly, Jenna chanted, "Are you one? Are you two?"

The rest joined in and continued counting until they reached, "Are you seven?"

"YES!" Jacob cried, his arms flying up into the air.

"Okay, my seven-year-old," Jenna said. "Make a wish and blow out your candle."

Jacob took a huge breath and blew out the candle. He leaned back, a satisfied grin on his face.

"Now can we eat?" Danny asked with exaggerated impatience.

"Danno," Grace groaned, rolling her eyes.

He grinned at her, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Yeah!" Jacob replied. "Let's eat!"

Plates and forks were distributed, and everyone selected their cupcakes.

The kids stayed around the picnic table and card table so they could sit while they ate. Cody, Jess, and Jadon drifted to their own group, leaving the adults to look on as they talked.

"Well, this is definitely a very minion birthday party," Catherine observed.

Jenna gave a little chuckle mixed with a groan. "God, I know. Half of me is ready for this phase to end, but the other half hopes it goes on for a while since now he has all this minion stuff." She glanced at the gifts still waiting to be opened. "I'm assuming there's probably more in there."

"You'd be right about that," Chin said with a smile.

"I think pretty much every kid goes through a similar pop culture phase," Catherine said. "Probably more than one. What it is just depends on the year."

Kono nodded. "And they become party themes."

"I don't remember themed birthday parties when I was a kid," Catherine said.

"I think I had a My Little Pony party once," Jenna put in.

"Lemme guess," Danny said, pointing at Steve. "G.I. Joe."

Steve chuckled, giving a little nod of acknowledgement.

"Sleepovers were the big thing I remember," Catherine said.

"Oh, yeah," Jenna agreed. "Definitely."

"Though it kind of depended on how long I'd been living there, you know?" Catherine continued. "If I'd made enough friends that I wanted to have over."

"Whatever I did, it had to be outside," Kono said.

"Having your party at McDonald's was a huge deal," Danny said. "Went to a lot of those growing up."

"This is what Jacob wanted," Jenna said, her eyes drifting over the happy group at the tables.

Steve smiled. "The minions? Oh, I believe that."

Jenna laughed. "No, I . . . yes, the minions, of course, but I meant this is the party he wanted. I asked if he wanted to have some friends come over or if he wanted to go out to eat or what . . . and he said, 'I want a party with my whole big family.' "

This pronouncement was met by smiles.

"Then he started rattling off names," she continued. She looked at each of them as she paraphrased Jacob's words. "Me and all his siblings, then Aunt Catherine and Uncle Steve and Uncle Danny and Grace and Uncle Chin and Aunt Kono." She sighed. "I teared up at that. I'm not ashamed to admit it."

Catherine put a hand on her arm. "Your kids have such a strong sense of family, Jenna. And that's because of you." She shook her head. "With everything Jason did – and didn't do – that very easily might not have been the case."

Beside her, Steve nodded, a shadow crossing his face briefly at the emotions her words stirred, both for the Allens and for himself.

Sensing his reaction, she brushed her fingers against his hand between them, though her focus stayed on Jenna.

"Family is important to them because you've made it important," she said.

"That's right," Kono agreed from Jenna's other side. "And these are the wonderful memories they'll have their whole lives."

Jenna smiled, looking between them. "Has it really only been a year since we met all of you?"

"Just about," Chin confirmed. "This year's Shop with a Cop is next week."

Jenna sighed and shook her head. "And now I can't imagine our lives without you."

Catherine squeezed her arm, and Steve said, "You don't have to."

"That's right," Danny said, smiling. "You're stuck with us."

Jenna blinked at the tears pricking her eyes.

"Wouldn't want it any other way."

* * *

After they finished eating, Jacob opened his gifts, including a package of minion buttons sent by Esther which Jacob shared with his friends, and presents from the Rollinses and Mary, Joan, and Aaron.

Once the party was over, the Five-0 team helped clean up, and Steve and Catherine were the last to leave.

"You could stay and watch the movie," Jacob said, following them as they walked through the living room toward the front door. "It just came out on DVD! Right before my birthday! Can you believe it?!"

"That's pretty great timing," Steve said with a smile.

"But we're gonna get going," Catherine added. She looked at Jenna. "Unless there's anything else we can do to help clean up?"

"No, no," Jenna assured her. "We appreciate all your help, but we've got it from here."

"You've got your prize bag, don't you, Uncle Steve?" Jacob asked.

Steve held it up. "Right here."

Jacob sighed in relief. He smiled. "I can't wait to play mini-golf!" he said, referring to their gift.

Catherine smiled and gave him a hug. "We're glad you're excited."

"And thanks for the minion football, Uncle Steve."

"You're welcome, buddy."

"They put minions on _everything_ , don't they?"

"Yeah, they do," Steve agreed with a chuckle.

Jacob looked at him with wide eyes. "And you'll show me how to throw it good, right?"

Steve smiled. "I was hoping you'd ask."

Jacob beamed, and Catherine smiled knowingly at Steve.

"Okay," she said, looking around at the Allens. "Have a good week at school. We'll see you soon."

Hugs had been exchanged all around in the backyard, but she leaned over for another a quick hug with Jenna.

"Thanks for everything," Jenna said.

Jacob gave both Steve and Catherine one last hug before they left with final waves and good-byes.

After he closed the door behind them, Jacob leaned his back against it and smiled at his family.

"Well, Jacob," his mother asked. "How was that for a birthday?"

He grinned, glancing down at his t-shirt.

"It was one in a minion."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

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